Abstract
The author estimates that more than 5,000 religious groups operate in Argentina,
with as many as 50,000
sects and
cults throughout Latin America. First are the "destructive cults,"
which demand total submission from their followers and utilize
thought-reform
techniques. Second are "controversial groups," which take advantage
of the misery and marginality in the Latin American continent by playing to the
population's alienation from the mainstream culture and need for simple, authoritative
answers. Third are "risk groups," or the
New Age movement.
These groups, which promise personal peace and oneness with the cosmos, are most commonly
found among the middle class, which often feels alienated from the Catholic Church and the
evangelical-pentecostal pastors who cater to the lower class. The Argentinian Foundation
for the Study of Cults (FAPES) was founded to help combat this problem. Between March and
November of 1993, FAPES received more than 1,000 telephone calls and gave lectures
attended by more than 15,000 people.